Blue and Green Makes Turquoise
by nut.wings.catkat
Summary: Caley, Gryff and Torie are the most well known students in Hogwarts, for completely different reasons. Caley, the famed "ice princess". Gryff, the friendly, sociable boy with a mystery. Torie, the self-proclaimed queen bitch. There will be acts of betrayal, and uncovered secrets, but who will win in the end? Girl OC1/ Boy OC, Girl OC2/ Draco Malfoy
1. Chapter 1

Caley's POV  
I was dreaming a very nice dream about scythes, blood, and all that good stuff until the alarm woke me up, a sharp noise breaking into my brain just as the dream vanished straight out the window. Turning my head to glare lazily at the electronic clock, the black numbers displaying the glorious day on which I had to return to dear old Hogwarts. With a jolt, I sat up, pushing the covers off myself immediately, clumsily making my way to the bathroom.  
Minutes later, I was standing in front of the mirror in the hallway, wand in hand, decked in the school uniform, and checking over my appearance. After all, this was the year of which I was finally going to prove to my family - well, the majority of my family - that I am not just some evil, useless brat. Patting down my robes, I nodded sharply to myself, before uncharacteristically pumping my fist in encouragement.  
This is the year.

* * *

Or maybe not.

"Dammit, Gryff, where are you?" I groaned to myself, shifting my legs impatiently, tapping them on stone flooring of the train station. Having arrived at the train station a whole half hour ago, I had already finished counting the number of wizards heading to train station 9 ¾ (the number wasn't small at all), finished reading a book, and still that annoying and too-nice-for-his-own-good cousin wasn't here.

Leaning on my luggage which was sitting right beside me on the bench, I silently ran through the reasons why Gryff could be late in my head: he could've been too caught up in reading (I loved books too, but the reading trait was twice more common in Ravenclaws), he could've found an injured animal on the way, he could've injured himself -

"Caley! There you are!" I turned my head, attempting to peek over my two boxes of luggage, and to my satisfaction, I saw a blob of raven-black hair rushing towards me, and to my surprise, Gryff was carrying another person, who's long hair flipped about in the wind, on his back as he ran.

Seeing him, I stood immediately, rushing past him to help my poor uncle who had his hands full with, which I presumed, Gryff's luggage.. Picking up one of the heavy brown trunks and smiling back at the grateful grin my uncle gave me. Shifting the trunks in my hands (was it normal for guys to bring so many things to school?), I turned towards Gryff, raising my eyebrows.

"So, late again, huh?" I questioned, annoyance oozing out my voice, but to be honest, Gryff had been late every single time we'd arranged to meet at the train station, so I didn't really know why I had been expecting for him to be punctual.

"Sorry!" the black-haired idiot had the audacity to quip back to me, a good-natured grin taking its usual place on his face. I tried to frown, but ended up smiling gently. Gryff had that type of optimistic let's-be-happy effect on people, so I reached forward to ruffle his hair again, as I usually did. And as per normal, he had to remark on my hair, again.

"Purple, this time?"

I nodded, sifting my own fingers through my hair, looking at the single bunch of purple strands in a sea of black from the corner of my eyes. Turning towards the girl that Gryff had helped, I noticed the cloth on her left foot and easily recognized his handkerchief. So Gryff, I rolled my eyes. She was of average height, and her long, almost waist-length dirty blond hair framed a somewhat tanned face, accentuated with two cerulean blue orbs for eyes. There was a certain slant to her eyes, and I narrowed my eyes right back at her, but she turned away quickly.

"Yeah, and we should get going." I said, tilting my head towards the sudden crowd of people with owl cages and cats in their arms. The Ministry of Magic's going to have to do something, I mused, the amount of robed people with owls, cats, and broomsticks, is way too suspicious.

And they aren't even well behaved, I thought, watching with a tiny smile gracing my lips as a cat attempted to claw at an owl in the near distance. Their owners were flapping their arms around, as if they can control their pets by doing so, but honestly, they were pretty ineffective.

Heading over, I lightly reprimanded on the two, who I found, were going to be first-years, so I smiled and sent them on their way. They waved at me, but I only thought to myself, that's why you have to do your best this year. Allowing myself the luxury of lifting my head up just a tad higher (hey, I was going to be in the oldest grade this year at Hogwarts) ,I dragged Gryff behind me, trunks in hand, glaring at the stupid boy who still pulled along the blonde girl and not helping my uncle with the trunks. Immature.

"Hey, hey Caley!" My cousin cried as we made our way inside the train, cross-eyed from entering the 9 ¾ station.

"What?" I replied, not even turning my head to look back at him.

"Can she," Gryff gestured towards the blonde girl, "stay in our compartment for the train ride?"  
At that question, I stopped immediately, halting in my tracks as I turned around the glare at my cousin, eyebrows raised in shock. For the six years we had attended Hogwarts , not once, you heard that right, not even once, had Gryff asked for someone to join us in our little "family" compartment.

Yeah, partially because of you, I thought in my head, and I sighed. I guess this invasion of my privacy could be overlooked for now. But only for now.

"Fine." I answered, stomping towards the furthest and most isolated compartment in the school train. Seeing the other students around me stare and whisper, I silently groaned. Just because I didn't like to interact with people in general didn't mean that I had to be famous for being unapproachable and that I should be some kind of Ministry of Magic spy. In another group of idiotic girls conversing, I was usually a shapeshifter, sent by that famous (for some odd reason) and utterly annoying writer Rita Skeeter, sent by her to investigate the hottest news in Hogwarts.

Well, too bad Hogwarts doesn't have a house for crazy people, I mused, though that would be good. They could have sleepovers and clubs where they can continue dreaming of the day when I work for Rita Skeeter of all people.

Rolling my eyes, I purposely brushed against the robes of one the gossiping girls, and she jumped away immediately, staring at me as if I was some type of holy being that was not to be touched at any cost. I smirked, remembering that the reason I even allowed them to do this was for the sake of my entertainment. Looking back, I saw Gryff laughing his head off and thought, maybe for Gryff too.

It took me a second to realize that I was thinking about that time again, so dazed that I was half-walking half-stumbling towards the last section of the train. I slapped my head lightly, somewhat mortified that I had let my cold, unapproachable, perfect demeanor slip like that.

Careless, Caley, careless, I lightly scolded myself, mentally stomping on my own feet as I looked around, almost horrified to think that someone had seen me and my perfect mask had been blown, but luckily, the only one who had seen was Gryff, who is currently laughing his head off. The result? He tripped on his own feet and nearly fell on me, but as the Seeker of the Slytherin Quidditch Team, I prided myself on my great reflexes, and managed to dodge him, neatly plucking the edge of his robes, stopping him from plunging headfirst onto the floor.

"What will you do without me, really?" I muttered, and Gryff smiled sheepishly as he ruffled his messy black hair good naturedly. I almost laughed. The first sounds of it began to escape my throat, but I managed to catch myself at the last millisecond, and the remains of what would have been a laugh vanished the end of the corridor, I turned sharply towards the right, and shoved the other two trailing behind me into our - mine and Gryff's - usual compartment. Suddenly, I noticed that the blonde girl was still standing there, her face still contorted into a thinking expression.

Why is she still here?, I thought, puzzled. Most people usually leave us alone.

But somehow, I couldn't find the words to tell her to get out, scram, and leave us alone like so many other people do.

Instead, I resorted to questioning, because my gut demanded some answers from my cousin. I sat opposite of them, and I saw them both visibly flinch at my scorching gaze. I crossed my legs in a kind of sadistic satisfaction.

"So…," I said coldly, eyebrows raised in question, "Gryff, do explain how you picked up this girl here."

Gryff POV

I could not help but flinch when Caley's glare was directed at me. I pouted slightly.. My cousin's an awesome wizard, really, but her temper is really a force to be reckoned with. I grinned sheepishly in answer to Caley's glare as I recalled what happened when I had been on my way to the train station.

I swear, I woke up with enough time to get to the train station on time. Well, kind of. At least, I had around half an hour left to get to the train station after I had woken up and gotten dressed, and my house was only half an hour away from the train station, right?

But no, because I had forgotten to pack all my books, and it took me a good ten minutes just to find all of them, and another ten to attempt to shove them all into my smallest trunk. I knew I shouldn't have thrown away that other trunk, no matter how old it was. Curse Caley and all her OCD.

I was tiptoeing and craning my neck to see over the crowd in a lousy attempt to find my cousin's black blob of hair with highlights streaking through it. I strained my eyes against the sun, but found nothing. Again. I swear she is getting harder and harder to find every year, I thought, groaning quietly.

Sighing in frustration, I bent down and picked my luggage up. I stumbled towards the entrance to the train station, trying to balance my weight of the suitcase filled with books and my owl cage with my other hand.

A tiny shriek drew my attention and as my eyes swiveled to locate the source of the sound, I noticed a familiar blond girl with tanned skin sprawled on the pavement. Her face was contorted in pain and she was swearing profusely as she gripped her ankle.

What happened to her? Without thinking, I ran over to her and knelt by her side. "Are you alright?" I inquired, my voice laced with concern. My eyes strayed to her ankle where blood gushed out like a red waterfall. I winced as if I felt her pain and fished out my handkerchief from my pocket and pressed it against the wound.

"It's fine. I am okay, i think…" the girl mumbled as she tried to sit up. She flapped her hands at me like she did not want me to help her. Actually, now that I look closer, I realized I recognized her from my house, Ravenclaw.

I wracked my brain and thought for a while, "Wait… you are that girl… um… Torie right?" I looked towards her questioningly. Surprise flashed across her face for a fleeting moment before her face brightened, "Yeah, I remember you! You are Gryff!"

I nodded absent-mindedly, ignoring her as I focused on her ankle scrape. "How did you get injured? It is quite a deep cut." I commented, curious about her accident. I gave her a moment as she tried to pull herself up into a standing position. I let her lean on to me as I feared she might fall again and injure herself even more.

"Okay," She said breathlessly while we made our way slow lumbering way to the platform, "I was trying to make my owl, barney, calm down since it kept on flapping its wings and making shrieking noises. It won't listen to me! I was not looking at where I was going and something caught my foot and I went flying. Then a little fat kid waddled over and tripped over me, causing me to scrape my ankle along the ground." She said all that in a breath.

(AU) *Tell me when you heard Barney the barn owl you started singing,  
Barney is a dinosaur  
from our imagination  
And when he's tall, he's what we call  
a dinosaur sensation *

After that lengthy explanation, she turned her really big blue eyes to me and pouted, making me feel terribly sorry for her. "Don't worry, I will help you get on the train okay?" I tried to reassure her and she nodded, albeit tearfully.

Together we made our way through the crowd until I finally spotted my cousin.

I went through all this in detail hoping to satisfy my cousin who was burning holes into Torie. I looked over to Torie, who looked like she was still hurting, and shrugged apologetically. But when I glanced back at Caley, her expression showed that she was trying to tell me something, but I shrugged it off. It was probably nothing.  
Instead, I leaned back into the plush red seats and fiddled with my wand to pass the time. My eyelids started to drop and I was nearly asleep when Caley's voice startled me back awake. I blinked blearily and looked around confusedly, "Whaa…?"

She shook her head in annoyance with a tiny smile on her face. "I asked if you spoke to your mom about getting that brand new broom for both of us. We really need to find a way to kick Gryffindor's ass!" She leaned forward, anticipating my answer.

But just as I was about to answer her questions, Torie cut in 'But the Celer 9000 Quidditch broom is mighty expensive! How could your mom afford to buy one? Let alone two!" Her face displayed shock and disbelief.

Before I could explain Caley did my job, "Oh, Gryff's family is really wealthy. He can definitely afford to buy it." She waved her hand dismissively. I tried to protest, to say that I was not that rich, but she finished before me, "Even if Gryff is too humble or modest or whatever to say it. He is still filthy rich."

I pouted, What is with them people interrupting me today? Nonetheless, I answered Caley's previous question, "I asked mom and she said yes!" I gushed out excitedly. I was not crazy about Quidditch, but you have to admit, the Celer 9000 looks totally badass.

Caley nodded firmly, "Finally a chance to beat those all-time winning Gryffindors!" I looked over to Torie, but she was sitting stoically , her eyebrows furrowed as if she was thinking deeply.

I stared in confusion at her, but once she noticed my gaze, she shook her head and offered a weak attempt of a smile at me. I did not understand so I turned back around, not before noticing Caley's suspicious scrutiny of Torie. I made a mental note to ask her that later.

"So…., what are your plans for this year? Have you chosen your lessons yet?" I asked, trying to diffuse the tension suddenly forming in this compartment. Thankfully it worked as Torie straightened and declared, "My goal is to get as many good grades this year, I would hope to achieve at least 2 outstandings." She smiled smugly.

Caley rolled her eyes and said, "Not much to expect. Though I finally took Peeves up on his offer to help with pranking the first years. That I can anticipate when we reach Hogwarts." She clasped both hands together and widened her eyes, doing a creepy impression of a maniacal look. Seriously, the resemblance was blatantly obvious.

"Well, around the same here. But this year, I decided to take up Care for Magical Creatures and Divination instead of Muggle studies and Arithmancy like last year." I shuddered as I recalled those subjects last year, they were bloody horrible.

"Why don't you want to join Arithmancy this year?" Caley asked in a sing-song voice. I sighed in defeat, knowing the answer I was about to give would bring her triumph. "It was too boring." I mumbled.

"HA! I told you so! And Griffy here did not listen to me!" She teased mockingly, pitching her voice to a baby tone when she said my childish nickname. I shook my head, she was too pleased. "You had to say i told you so, didn't you?" I grumbled.

"Of course! I would never give up the chance!" She replied, smiling sweetly. Deciding to forget about this, I asked her, "So what subjects did you choose then?" I cocked my head to one side, waiting impatiently for her answer.

She flipped her hair and answered, "I took Study of Ancient runes and divination. So i guess that is one class we will be together in other than the main subjects. How about you?" She turned to Torie reluctantly as she asked the last part.

"Oh me? I took Divination, Arithmancy and Muggle Studies. I chose three." She announced triumphantly. Before Caley could ask why, she continued, "Well, three because I believe I have the brains to keep up with the work and I would manage this even if I have to work extremely hard."

I could not help but smile goofily at her as I admire her determination, she seemed so passionate about her grades and study. Caley rolled her eyes again and huffed. I looked questioningly at her, but she gave me a look that said, "are you stupid or what?"

I opted to ignore that and instead started a new topic. "Who do you think will be the new head prefects this year? I heard the signing up begins tomorrow and the election takes place a couple of weeks later."

Immediately, Torie and Caley leaned forward, eager to talk about this. Torie said,, 'I really wonder… It might be Brent? His grades seemed to have improved over the last few days last year… And he seemed really eager to get it. " Caley waved her hand as if dismissing Brent to be nothing, "In his dreams. He needs to get over his study problem first… And maybe his weight problem."

"What about Ashley? She seems like quite a smart girl and she is very kind to everyone." I put in, thinking about it. Caley and Torie continued dissing the other possibilities for the rest of the train ride as I sat there listing the names of the people I know of.

"Cannot be him. No one will vote for him, he is too ugly."  
"He is bad with grades. The teachers would not allow it."  
"Who would vote for her?"  
"I have never seen anyone fatter than him. No way."  
"Nuh-uh! Not possible."

As time passed by, I slowly fell asleep, feeling like I could still hear them arguing.

I jolted awake as Caley slapped me in the arm to bring me back to the land of the living. "Time to change, we've nearly reached Hogwarts."

I bolted upright and rushed to heave my suitcase out from under my seat to fish my uniforms out. I saw Torie having trouble with hers so I reached over and helped her. By the time we all slipped our cloaks on top of our clothes, the train and begun to slow its movement.

It finally screeched to a stop and there was a split second of compartment doors being pushed open before students dressed in cloaks spilled out of the train like a sea of black ants.

The three of us managed to get out after being jostled here and there by elbows and luggages. I looked back to make sure Torie was fine before jogging to catch up with Caley who had scaled half of the gentle-sloping hill to get to the carriages.

After we all got on, the carriages started moving, dragged along by thestrals. I looked up at the majestic castle lit up in a warm and dimly lit glow. It towered over us in the black night, and the magic seemed to pulse from within it. I grinned to myself, its good to be home again.

Torie POV

I looked all around me to see the bustling of black robes all around. This was going to be my year. The year I would get flying colors in my N.E. and the year that everyone in the school would see I am much better than they thought I was.

No matter what, I am going to achieve what I have dreamed ever since I was a young witch, and that was to get the role of Head Prefect.

It was simply by chance that I met Crawford. I already knew who Gryff was - after all, it's kind of hard to be inconspicuous when your family is one of the richest among the wizard world. - but we never really talked much. I admit, he is a really sweet guy, but he was way too nice for his own good.

And that Caley girl, who was his cousin, as I'd heard from numerous people around school (being a gossip queen had its benefits) - was, well, not as bad as I thought she was. I definitely liked her badass I-don't-give-two-shits-about-you personality, and I did admire the fact that she was, somehow, popular without doing anything at all. Anything.

I had to admit, if I was going against someone like Caley this year, there'd probably be some major difficulties ahead, but I am the most influential witch in Hogwarts, after all. There was nothing I couldn't do.

The fact that Caley Diablo even had a fan club, you heard that right, a freaking fan club, did irk me though. I could get some money to force one of my minions to make a fanclub for me though… that could work. Maybe Jane?

By then, what would she have that I don't? Maybe money… but that can be altered.

I followed the two cousins that I shared the compartment with giving up on finding another carriage with my friends since we made our way out the Hogwarts train late, leaving me not enough time to find them.

I sighed in frustration, I am still stuck with Caley and Gryff. A frown appeared on my face while I tried to heave my heavy suitcase onto the the carriage but to no avail. I whipped my head to fling hair from my eyes and I directed my glare to the pair already seated on the carriage, demanding them with my eyes to help me.

Caley's eyes skimmed over me and my luggage before she smirked and purposefully looked away. I could feel my expression morph into outrage, "How dare she not help me? Can't she see I am having trouble?" I let out a huff of anger.

Gryff heard it and being the gentleman he was, he easily picked up my hot pink suitcase and helped lift it onto the carriage. Then, he held out his hand to me which I took gratefully. Finally, someone doing what they are supposed to. I sent a smug smile to Caley and she rolled her eyes at Gryff shaking her head with a smile, choosing to ignore me.

Sitting down opposite Gryff, I smoothed out my uniform and fixed my long blonde hair into a long braid that rested on my back.

I looked over to where Gryff sat, twisting and turning his silver ring on his finger, I am struck again by how much he has, all the wealth and riches. _Everything I don't. _

As the thestrals pulled the horses up the hill closer and closer to the beautiful grand castle, my thoughts drifted off to my main plan of the year. _Head Prefect. _

This year, the teachers decided the students should have a chance to vote for the Head Prefect, instead of them only electing this privileged role. This new system threw me off my plan, as my straight Os and excellent behaviour in class and definitely satisfy the professors.

Now, I have to focus more on my popularity status in the whole school. Well, _duh_, I am the head of my gang of friends, that should count for something. But the problem was finding a way for everyone to choose me as the rightful head prefect, not some other worthless nerdy competitor.

I _need _to beat the others. Nothing , and I do mean nothing, stops Torie Mellor from getting what she wants.

I flipped my hair back and added a touch more of makeup as the school drew nearer and nearer. This school year was almost officially starting.

* * *

"Ravenclaw!"

I clapped from the end of the table as the rest of my house erupted in whoops and cheers. Everyone was back at school and they were just wrapping up the sorting of houses for the first years with the final person also being in Ravenclaw. All the applause and chatter fell into silence when the sound of a spoon being tapped against a gold goblet rang out in the great hall.

Professor Dumbledore, the Headmaster, stood in his sky-blue cloak and long bearded glory. His eyes twinkled as he peered over his glasses at the students.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts, fellow witches and wizards. As a yearly reminder, do not wander into Forbidden Forest, hence the name 'forbidden'. I am sure you are all familiar with the news of electing the head prefect this year?"

Cheers erupted among the students, they were finally given a choice in the Head Prefect.

'Silence." Everyone kept quiet once again, "Gryffindor's year head will be Professor Mcgonagall, Slytherin's head will be Professor Snape, for Hufflepuff, it will be professor Linnaeus and finally Professor Lilian is in charge of the ravenclaw house."

"This year we have three new teachers among our midst. First is Professor Draco Malfoy teaching Potions class." A man with slicked blond hair and startling grey eyes stood up and nodded his head stiffly at us. I think he might be like Snape, hopefully he would not be bias towards Slytherin.

"Secondly, we have Professor Lilian. She will be teaching the Arithmancy class." A woman with long black hair and a stern frown on her face stood and waved at us. I perked up when I heard Arithmancy, this was the class I was taking this year. Looks like I have another teacher's good list to get on.

"Last but not least, Professor Linnaeus, teaching Muggle Studies class. Now please give a round of applause to our new teachers." Doing as we were told, everyone clapped for the new teachers sitting at the table at the front.

"Now, before our feast begins, I would like to remind all seventh years that the sign up for head prefect will begin tomorrow. And now, a toast to a brand new school year." Professor Dumbledore held up his cup towards the school and slowly everyone did the same. "Now please, everyone. Dig in."

With his final words, all the students started reaching forward to bring all sorts of food to their plates. All except for the half-blood and muggle born first years that were all just bewildered by the sight of dozens of dishes filled with mouth watering food to suddenly appear in front of their eyes. I laughed silently at the sight of their faces. Every year, there would be new students that would have a surprised face plastered on their faces. I remembered that I wasn't much different to them when I had first arrived at the school.

Being half-blood, I wasn't really exposed to much magic. Given the fact that my father had also died when I was very young, I was left with my mother to take care of me who was a muggle and so the amount of knowledge I had on the magical world was also less. My mother had told me about my father's background but I never believed a word she said. It was why I was so surprised when I received my Hogwarts letter.

"Torie? Earth to Torie? Hey!"

The sound of Gryff's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

"Oh! Sorry Gryff. What were you saying?"

"What were you thinking about? You totally spaced out." Gryff asked curiously, cocking his head to one side.

"Oh, it was nothing." I brushed it off, shaking my head.

I played around with my remaining food after feeling full from the spaghetti and meatballs on my plate. That moment I felt as if someone was watching me. Turning around, I saw a pair of emerald green eyes staring at me from the Slytherin table. I could see Caley narrowing her eyes at me. I gave her a cold look and with the flick of my hair, I turned back to face my table.

"Have some ice cream.." Gryff said as he offered me a cup of deliciousness I gave him a grateful smile before taking a small bite of the desert. I watched as turned to start talking to his large group of friends that were hanging on to his every word. Hmm, this guy could be able to help me get even higher on the school's popularity chart not that I wasn't already on the top. But I seriously need to know the deal with his annoying cousin.

"So what's the story of the infamous Caley Diablo?"

"What do you mean?" Gryff looked up from his food and peered over my shoulder at his cousin.

"Well," I said taking a gulp of ice cream, " She is like the black sheep of your family, right? Since she's the only one in your long family history," I stretched her arms to emphasize my point, "to ever get into Slytherin instead of Ravenclaw. Is it true that she is evil? And also, is it true that you are the only one that talks to her in your whole entire family? Isn't that like 50 people? That must suck. I even heard that she doesn't even have a heart!"

I took a deep breath form saying all that in one breath. I could not help but let venom leak into my words as I repeated what everyone were whispering whenever she walked past.

Gryff looked at me, his face showing shock. "Where on earth would you hear that? Those are all rumors. She definitely not the black sheep of our family. She is just special okay? Just because most of the family…"

"Everyone in the family," I corrected him. Except _her_, I thought darkly. I was so tempted to say it out, but I had to get on Gryff's good side, and see what help he can offer me.

"Fine just because everyone in the family was in Ravenclaw so far doesn't mean that we _all must _be in Ravenclaw. Caley is no where near evil and is actually one of the more tolerable girls I have ever met. Also, I am not the only one that talks to her. My parents do to."

I chuckled to myself. Caley? Tolerable? Ha. Since when? Maybe to him she is but to the rest of the world, she is a cold unapproachable bitch. And like the fact that only 2 other people talk to her in their family. I mean come on.

"Also, Caley definitely has a heart! Even if she might have done something-" Gryff suddenly stopped, slapped his hand to his mouth.

Bingo. That was what I needed.

I leaned forward and asked urgently, "What is it? What did she do?" Gryff just shook his head, hands still on his mouth, refusing to say anything about it.

I see now that he won't say anything now. I just need to notice when he has a slip-up. This was what I needed to hold against Caley. If she ever tried to do anything to do anything that would affect how people thought of me or that would affect my level of popularity, I would use this against her. She holds nothing over me. And I will find out what the 'something' is. _No matter what. _


	2. Chapter 2

Gryff's POV

_There was a good thing about the new curriculum, and a bad thing too, _I thought, pouting in annoyance.

All the students in Hogwarts were gathered at the Great Hall, as per usual, when we arrived at the school. I imagined that school would start tomorrow, and I would have, at least, a few more hours of free time before I had to go back to school.

And so I arrived at Hogwarts with a light heart, and a good feeling about this year.

But Professor McGonagall bursted my happy bubble (NOOOO MY HAPPY BUBBLE).

When all the students were gathered at the Great Hall, the first thing she did was to make an announcement about the new seventh-year curriculum.

Fortunately, the classes would be cut shorter, which meant we had more free time. At first, when I heard the news, I was so happy I was ready to bounce out of my seat with joy.. And I'm a happy and optimistic person, so that was pretty extreme.

However, she continued that announcement with the news that we would be having more homework this year. Which, I concluded, is why we were allowed to have more free time. To do our homework.

WHAT IS THE USE OF GIVING US FREE TIME BUT TELLING US WE HAVE TO DO HOMEWORK?

And, in addition to that, we would have two classes before we could go to the dorms and fall asleep. Why? Because the train's schedule had been pushed forward, so we were all at Hogwarts early, and therefore we should be able to get a feeling of how lessons will be like this year.

REALLY? REALLY?

By that point of time, I wanted to bash my head against the table and never look up again. Heaven forbid she told us we had to take our exams twice to make sure the scores we received were accurate.

Is that even logical?

Probably not.

Anyways, the first years' sorting was as exciting as always, and I managed to cheer for every single student who joined Ravenclaw without losing my voice and Professor McGonagall telling me off. Yes! I hope the kids were encouraged, though. Must be hard starting a new school, much less a wizarding school of all things. I didn't think it was particularly different starting muggle school and normal school, but Caley says some people need time to adapt.

Figures why she's nicer to the first years than the second years. Seeing a senior super nice (considering it's Caley) to you in your first year, then act like a dragon to you when you're in second year? Must be even more shocking.

It was interesting to see that Ravenclaw had a new teacher as the head of house. Professor Lilian looked fine, but a bit too strict. I think we'd get along well. As long as she's not teaching me any subjects. I made a mental note not to sign up for Arithmancy as an elective this year. Better safe than sorry.

Hey, I just want to get out of school with good grades. Do not judge.

Then, after the introduction of the new teachers, it was dinnertime! They should have called it lunner. 'Cause it was like dinner and lunch at the same time because it was too early for dinner and too late for lunch? You get me?

The food was as amazing as usual, and I can safely say I ate the most in the whole year. I had ten chicken wings, five puddings, and the list just goes on forever. When the feast finally ended, us seventh years had to go get our new timetables. The Ravenclaw line was beside the Slytherin line, so I saw Caley picking up her timetable, taking a Time Turner on the way.

I rolled my eyes. Typical Caley, always wanting to do her best. It was my turn to fetch my timetable after a bit, and I quickly scanned everything to make sure that I had the subjects I wanted...not. Frankly, I was just checking that I had enough free time to still have _free time_, and to be able to finish my homework. This year was going to be difficult.

Torie's POV

Okay, I never thought that I'd be able to make a plan for gathering the most power and authority in the whole of Hogwarts, but this whole thing seems easier than I thought.

At first I thought I'd have to resort to desperate measures - after all, Head Prefect is, the easiest way to gain power in school, but it's quite hard to actually be able to become Head Prefect. For one, although only a few students sign up every year, five at most, they're always bound to be the best of the best.

Take Caley Diablo, for example. I didn't expect to have her as competition - after all, she hardly cares about anything, so I didn't assume she would even try, but then again, she does seem to care a lot about her studies. Stating a true fact here, she got the best grades in whole grade last year.

As queen bee of the entire Hogwarts, and a critical judge of other people, even I would have to admit I'd give Caley Diablo full marks for academics and intelligence, and sadly, I'd also have to give her full marks for looks, because considering the fact that she probably doesn't even know what the hell BB cream is, that girl looks fucking perfect (and no, I am not lesbian, thank you very much).

_Why is the world so unfair?, _I think, but I console myself with the fact that I'd have to give that Caley Diablo a near zero in the section of social and communication abilities. I'm pretty sure the girl knows how to use a phone - I saw her typing on one - and yet she appears to have no friends at all. Well, except her beloved cousin Gryff.

Speaking of Gryff, that;s where my master plan comes in. Using my authority over my minions, I had immediately been able to find out several facts about Caley Diablo and Gryff Crawford. Despite the different last names, they were, indeed, cousins, which explained the identical black hair and blue eyes. And the fact that they were both fucking rich.

When I say fucking rich, I'm being serious. I mean the fact that I managed to find out that Gryff's parents own ten properties, houses at that, and Diablo''s parents used to own the same, if not much more properties. No idea what happened to them, though.

Darn Caley Diablo and the lack of personal information she gives out to other people. My master plan will solve all of this and make me the queen of the whole of Hogwarts, though.

Since Gryff Crawford is rich and all, the most wanted bachelor in school, AND he should have all the information, all the juicy gossip on Diablo - I was sure he had almost revealed some of her very very personal information last time - and so, if I can get him wrapped around my little finger, all will be well.

With his money, I can bribe the minority of the student population who doesn't support me to vote for me, allowing me to become the next Head Prefect, and if I can get the school's most wanted bachelor, then I can become more popular. After all, the minority of the student population who realise me for my true self and think of me as a bitch, are the ones who support Gryff Crawford, so if I can get him, then that part of the student population might accept me. And with the information that he'll give me, Caley Diablo won't be able to become Head Prefect - I'll blackmail her.

See? Perfect plan. The only thing I need to do now to make my dreams come true?

Woo Gryff Crawford.

And the way the world is allowing me to do this shows my luck this year - I'm in the same class as Gryff Crawford. Literally, every single class. Spending most of the day with him will surely cause him to abandon Caley and fraternise with me instead. With this, my plan is easily working and on its way.

I nod to myself as I slip into my classroom for my first class, and am quite pleased to find that Gryff has, to the advantage of my plan, chosen one of the seats in the first row, and the only seat left is the one beside him.

Smirking, I slide into the seat, but plaster on my very atrociously fake smile that no one seems to see is fake, and I turn to my target, hand out, silently requesting for a handshake. But when he turns around, I'm quite shocked, because not only is this the first time I'm looking at Gryff Crawford closely, and carefully, he's actually pretty handsome. Like Cedric Diggory, but with black hair and blue eyes.

The last part reminds of the fact that Caley and Gryff look so alike they should be siblings, which makes me remember my plan, and so, to cover up that awkward moment of silence, I stretch my fake smile even further, as if that would even help.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Torie, and you are?" I pip in what I think is a cute voice - Jane's always doing it, and saying it's cute, so I try it (but I don't have eyes, so I can't do puppy eyes well) - and flash my beaming Barbie-like smile at my new seatmate.

Being the hyperactive and energetic person I had pretty much guessed he was, Gryff turned around immediately at the sound of my voice.

"Hey! Um…," _seriously, you don't know me?, _"Torie, right? I helped you when you were injured!" he answers, eyes sparkling. _Yes, dumbass, you did. Even an idiot would be able to tell me that. _I stifle a giggle, and he looks surprised, but pleased at the genuine smile suddenly blooming on my face. _But he is an idiot_.

"Yeah! …," I can feel the atmosphere become more quiet as both of us think of what to say.

"Anyways… what subject is this?" Gryff suddenly questions, and with a jolt, I realise that I have no idea which classroom this is, and which teacher is supposed to be teaching the subject here.

"Actually… I don't know…" I admit sheepishly, my cheeks flaming.

"Wait a bit, I'll check!" he replies as he dives towards his bookbag, and I wrinkle my nose at the sight of it. His bookbag looks like it used to be very expensive-looking and nice, but now there are frays of fabric sticking off the edge, and I wonder why such a rich person would be carrying around such a shabby looking old bag - after all, I'm not rich, but I do own a pretty awesome wardrobe, if I do say so myself.

Gryff flips through the pages, head shaking left and right as he checks his timetable, shaggy black hair flopping back and forth, and I watch it, as if I'm in a daze.

"Wait - ," he suddenly says to me, before turning to a blushing girl who's sitting behind him, swooning over him. For some reason, i find myself wanting to punch her in the face. He gives her a mega-watt smile as if she's the first human he's seeing after a very very long time.

"Excuse me… I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but could you tell me which subject this whole classroom is for?" Gryff questions, and I almost narrow my eyes at the girl before remembering the mask I have to put on this year before smiling sweetly at her.

"U-umm...erm…." the girl seems flustered at being questioned by two of the most popular students in Hogwarts. _Of course she would be, _I think, _if I were a stupid puppy who likes to follow super popular fabulous people, I would too._

"I - I… this classroom is for Arithmancy…"

"Oh, really? I must be in the wrong classroom! I have to go, sorry!" he tells the girl, ruffling his hair in apology.

"What class are you supposed to have, Torie?" Gryff questions me.

"Care for Magical Creatures." I answer simply.

His eyes brighten.

"Great! I'm supposed to be having that lesson too! Let's go!" he shouts as he pulls me out of the classroom. Getting over the fact that my heart is beating quickly - from the strain of running quickly, mind you - I smirk, lowering my head so that Gryff won't notice me.

My plan is definitely going to work.

Caley's POV

_I swear, Gryff is way too nice for his own good._

That was the only thought running through my head as I paced up and down the hallway, waiting for Gryff to hurry up and come to our little hidey-hole. Staring at my wristwatch (were these even _allowed _in Hogwarts?), my eyebrows furrowed, nearly meeting in the middle as I realised that he was already ten minutes late.

There was no way he'd forgotten - we met up here so often that he couldn't have forgotten because it was simply a force of habit - so what could have kept him? I resumed my never-ending pacing as I walked this way and that, looking calm, except for the occasional licking of my lips (a nervous habit of mine).

OUt of the blue, there came a sound of scuffling feet, and I trained my eyes on the door immediately, flashing out my wand to wipe away the person's memories - whoever it was - because they could _not _find out that I was here. Because then I'd have nowhere to hide anymore. I trusted that it wasn't a teacher, simply because there were no classrooms around here, and I doubted that any of the teachers had enough time to busy themselves with things like these.

And so it had to be a student. Frankly, I did not care for any of my classmates, and I wouldn't mind brainwashing one of them. But a sharp pain pierced my head as I thought this, and my mind immediately told me: _You're being too soft, Caley. You're becoming too nice._

Yes, I would _not _regret brainwashing them But I retracted my thoughts straight away - school is not an opportunity for me to fuel my anger towards...those people…, but for me to learn. So I bent my legs into an attacking pose, my wand poised well in front of me, ready to fight.

"Ob - " the first syllable of the memory spell had barely left my lips when Gryff burst in, limbs flailing wildly, and my first reaction was to rush forward, dropping my wand as I looked over him, making sure he wasn't harmed in any way. After I finished checking - apart from a few messy clothes, and a burnt corner on his robe, nothing bad seemed to have had happened to him.

Relieved, but still quite irritated - I had OCD about everything - , I strode two steps back, and hands on my hips, I glared at Gryff.

"Would it really hurt you to be _punctual_ at least once?"

Forever the cheeky one, Gryff shook his head (I immediately thought of a puppy), and replied with a "I could but I don't wanna."

I sighed.

"So, how's your classes?" he asked, attempting to distract me from lecturing him about the pros, and only the pros o punctuality. Rolling my eyes at his attempt to divert my attention, I still went along with it, giving him an answer almost immediately.

"Not bad. Snape's okay. But Malfoy as the teacher for Defense against the Dark Arts...really? He's like… two years older than you? Three years older than me, I think." I complain, Honestly, is it even allowed for schools to employ teachers who are _just _a tad older than their students?

Gryff shrugs in response.

"As long as I manage to pass with him as the teacher, I really don't care. But you should seriously see Ravenclaw's new head of house… she's so strict. And she teaches Arithmancy_, _the most boring subject in the history of the world! Whyyyyy?" he half-answers, half-whines, and I resist the temptation to facepalm as he says this, Trust Gryff to be like this. I groan, running my hands through my hair, soothing my annoyance.

"Well, it's better than...well, you know. _There._" I say. Here in mine and Gryff's hiding place, I don't have to pretend to be that cold, unapproachable person that everyone thinks I am, just poor little me, the person without a place to stay. It's better than having to justify myself all the time, at least.

"Oh! And you know the girl I helped this morning?"

"Yeah, the one who made you late?" I answer, but I can see the way Gryff's cheeks flush red for a second when he mentions her, and I have to mentally punch myself so I don't break out in a childish dance, singing "_Gryff and what's-her-name=again, sitting on a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g"_, but at least I shut myself up.

"Yeah, her Seriously, Cal, use her name. TORIE," Gryff answers, "and she's in most of my classes this year."

"Really?" I raise my eyebrows..

"She's surprisingly quite nice. Stubborn, though."

For once, I am lost for words, because I've never seen Gryff talk about a girl before. Never ever. For some reason, I don't feel very good about her, like she's tricking Gryff or something. She could have good reasons to (I'd seen many a girl try to woo Gryff because our family was filthy rich), and as his cousin, I had to admit that he didn't look half bad. But then again, as much as I hate to admit it, we were both given good genes by our family. Mostly, good genes at least.

I look at my watch. Nine o'clock, around one hour away from my curfew, but I need to go. I need time and space to think. Because my thoughts are so jumbled up in my mind, I have no idea what I should think anymore, so under my breath, I mutter something along the lines of "curfew, have to go", and luckily, I make it out of the door, out of the secret hallway, ignoring Gryff's whispers of "what;s wrong, Caley?"

As I stride down the hallway, the bottoms of my flats, purposely chosen quiet ones, pad lightly across the hallway, heading towards the signing=up cup, as I am fond of calling it, just to check.

_It's not possible anyone else has already signed up for the election to join head prefect, right? I mean, although you get all that power, there's so much responsibility, and it's so annoying, so no one would even think of signing up, right:?_

Apparently, I'm wrong, because once I turn the corner, making my way towards the cup, blue flames billowing out of it, I spot the bronze plaque below it, and see that it has been flipped to another number. Instead of the one that had appeared when I had signed up first thing when I got to Hogwarts, the bronze plaque flashed an engraved number two, and I almost jumped in pure shock/

_Someone other than me had actually signed up to join the Head Prefect election,.Darn it._ I stomped my foot, an action reminiscent of childhood actions, when I could afford to do such things.

_No, no, stop thinking about that again,_ I will myself as I spin on my heel immediately, resolutely turning on my heel and walking out of the room, only to bump into someone. I look up in shock.

_I must be out of it recently, I'm even bumping into people_, I rub the spot between my brows and sigh, before I look up and see my Defence against the Dark Arts teacher. You guessed it, Professor Malfoy, or if I daresay, Draco Malfoy. He's only three years older than me after all.

But I have to keep my record of being a perfect student - aka I can't associate with teachers like this who _they_ think are evil, just to prove myself, so I hastily murmur and apology, accompanied with a swift, practiced bow of my head. Immediately afterwards, I edge to the left and attempt to pass without any attention from the teacher, but _oh, just my luck_, he moves towards my left, his right, too, and proceeds to block me.

"I'm sorry, Professor Malfoy, but could you please move? It's almost curfew, and I'd like to get back to the dormitory as soon as possible, if you don't mind." I mutter, trying my best not to sound sarcastic or like I want to punch him in the head. Today has not been a good day, and I don't need another person to aggravate me, I need to go back to the dorm and start planning for my campaign.

"You're lucky you're in my house, Ms. Diablo," he replies, with all the sickly sweetness there could ever be in the world, "or I'd deduct a hundred house points from your house. However, I would like Slytherin to win, so consider yourself… safe for now." With that, his smirk seems to deepen even further, and I wait patiently for him to move to the side so I can pass.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Oh yes, what was it I needed to talk to you about...hm…," he seems to ponder and think for a few seconds, and I grasp the opportunity, while he's distracted, to dodge under his arm and escape back to the safety of my dorm room - being a Seeker and going through all that training has its occasional advantages.

The second I get back safely to my dorm room, I'm about to flop into my bed when I notice the pairs of wide eyes staring at me from all corners - more like none, the room's a circle - like I'm some kind of predator and they are the prey.

_I even have to keep my composure here, even though I'm living in this place, _I sigh in my head, rolling my eyes with my head down so no one will notice. For the sake of seeming like a perfect person - my cover so far - I gently place the bag I'm carrying on the hook beside my bed, setting my books carefully, as if they are diamonds, on my bedside table.

Slotting out my trunk from beneath my bed, I flip it open without a sound, fetch my neatly folded clothes, close it, lock it, slot it back under my bed, and make way to the bathroom, right next to the entrance to my dorm room.

By the time I re enter the room, my thoughts finally collected, all the lights are turned out, and the rest of the girls are neatly tucked into bed. Probably because they don't want to see me.

I snort.

Typical behaviour from idiotic little girls.

_But how I wish I could be exactly like them. _I smack my head the minute I think that. _No, Caley, no bad thoughts. You have to do well this year. You have to prove yourself to them._

Curling up into my blankets, I realise with a pang, that I really wish I could be like those idiotic little girls.


	3. Chapter 3

Torie's POV

Okay. Dumbledore was a nice, sweet, wise old man, but I did not like anyone who decided to wake us up early to drag us to assembly.

Disturbing my beauty sleep? Not cool, old man. Not cool.

My servant, the title I have so nicely created for my beloved follower, Jane, was the one who woke me up, shyly nudging at me whilst I sleep, hoping to wake me up. Despite being a parasite, she was, at least, quite useful.

"Torie, wake up, please, Torie." I woke up immediately at Jane's use of the word 'please' (a sound quite uncommon to anyone but me), and I yawned and stretched for a good ten minutes, peeping at the clock, before asking Jane _why the hell she was waking me up at five-thirty of all times._

"What is it?" I snapped.

"W-we're having early assembly today."

I groaned, thumping my head back onto my pillow.

"That doesn't mean I have to go, does it?"

Jane fidgeted for a bit, before whispering that Dumbledore was the one who had asked for the presence of all the students in the Great Hall at the fantastic time of five-thirty in the morning.

"Fine." I muttered, exasperated, and I snatched my tidily folded (courtesy of Jane) school robes and my makeup bag on my bedside table before I locked myself in the bathroom.

"Expect me to be out in ten minutes. You need to help me with my shoes. And jewelry." I barked, and heard the faint yes from the other side of the door. Immediately getting dressed, I checked how I looked in the mirror situated nicely in the toilet, brushing myself down before dumping everything out of my makeup bag onto the marble counter.

Leaning closer to my reflection for the highest accuracy, I began applying my makeup, going for a simple look so that everyone would think I had just woken up (and be jealous of me for looking that nice when I woke up), and once I was satisfied with my results, I slammed the door on my way out of the bathroom, plopping myself on the bed as I waited for Jane to go get my shoes and jewelry and help me put them on.

As I watched the mousy brown haired girl, I thought if I should go look for another "maid", another willing helper. I was sure there would be many willing to volunteer. I decided against it. At least Jane was obedient enough. For a _parasite_. Little leech, she was.

"How do I look?" I asked Jane bitchily as I surveyed my completed appearance, twirling around to show Jane all my angles.

"You look as wonderful as always, Torie." she answered with mock, Barbie-like cheerfulness, and I was tempted to puke at her fakeness.. Whatever. She wasn't worth my time. I was the queen bitch, and the queen bitch did not have time for anyone.

Or so I thought.

"The candidates for Head Prefect this year are…." Dumbledore said, as he stood on the stairs in the Great Hall, and I crossed my fingers and hoped that the other person running for head Prefect wouldn't be much competition. Unfortunately, I did not have much luck, and karma was an even bigger bitch than I was.

"Torie Mellor and Caley Diablo."

Around me, i could hear all the students whispering, and I wanted to bash my head against the wall. _Why Caley Diablo, of all people? Why?_ Although Caley had a reputation for being the coldest "ice princess" ever to enter Hogwarts, that was pretty much the only reason why people were scared of her and avoided her.

Everything else she did was pretty much perfect. She had perfect grades, was occasionally, according to rumours, kind, and super organised, super concerned about the welfare of students. "Ice princess with a watery heart", some people said. And what did I have? The grand title of the "Queen Bitch of Hogwarts".

I sighed. This was going to be harder than I thought.

"So, I will brief everyone on running for Head Prefect. For the benefit of the two young ladies running this year," Dumbledore nodded to me and Caley briefly, in turn, "and also," he continued, "for any other younger students who wish to join in the future."

"All candidates need to have a campaign manager."

I nodded, understanding, but I furrowed my brow. Just who could I ask to help me? Sure, I was popular around the school, but I wasn't that well liked. Only my idiotic followers would be willing to help me, and to be honest, well, they were exactly as I said. Idiots. Imbeciles. They would be of no use to me.

However, I had no choice,. I had to choose one of the,m, so they would become an even more devoted follower of me, and would sing out even more of my praises, though I knew what came out of their mouths half the time was the opposite. Either way. I looked through my Ravenclaw followers (better to have a campaign manager from my own house just in case, right?), scrutinizing them.

I was looking down the line of people, when I made eye contact with a pair of eyes that I had become quite familiar with. Gryff. Something in my chest leaped, and my cheeks burned for a second (thankfully covered by my makeup) My breath caught for a second before I shook my head, unwilling to think of the reasons why my heart might be jumping, instead turning to the table beside mine where the Hufflepuffs sat.

Seeing my most devoted follower, Jane, I decided it was time to reward the little pet for all her loyalty over the past years. I nudged her, and she immediately turned around with a scowl on her face, before she noticed it was me and her face burst into a disgustingly fake smile.

"Jane, would you be my campaign manager?" I asked the girl, an equally as fake smile adorning my face. Her expression changed to something that looked like reluctance before she burst into an even worse smile.

"Sure, Torie. I would love to!" She gushed, like a servant attempting to flatter their master, which was, sadly, what she was.

"Thanks, Jane."

With that problem solved, I turned back to the Ravenclaw table, and I swore, out of the corner of my eye, I could see a face with shaggy black hair and emerald green eyes display a face of disappointment, and I immediately thought, _I haven't done anything_, before realising that this was none of my business, and if Gryff Crawford wanted to make weird faces, he could. I looked at Dumbledore, waiting for him to continue.

"You have six months to prepare for the speeches, and then there will be a vote as to who will be the Head Prefect." Dumbledore chuckled for a moment as he talked.

"Frankly, I have no idea why you're being given such a long time to complete your campaign when it takes up half the school year, " Dumbledore smiled, obviously amused, "but I wish you all the best of luck, and I look forward to seeing your campaigns and listening to your speeches." His warm demeanour was there for a second, but his normally humorous personality returned quickly, and with a brisk "Off to class, everybody", all the students were sent away.

As they filed away,, a few of them turned around to point at me to exclaim to their "friends" that I was one of the candidates for Head Prefect this year. In response, I merely turned up my head and smirked at them. Just they wait until I become Head Prefect and have the ability to threaten them with house points and detention. The thought was lovely.

I beckoned to Jane with the smallest of gestures, and propped my feet up on the table.

"So, you'll be my new campaign manager."

"Yes, Torie!" Her lips were stretched into what I thought must be an awfully painful smile, going all the way from her left ear to her right ear.

"I hope we'll work well together!" Evidently, the little bitch saw this as an oppurtunity to, as usual, leech off my popularity as the queen bitch. Ha! As if she would ever get the courage to become someone like that! Jane, in my eyes, was far too… mousy for the real world. I could imagine her still living with her dear mummy ten years later. I pity her old mum. Must be horrible for her.

"Yes, I hope _we,_" I answered, putting extra emphasis on the 'we' (Jane had a reputation for dumping all of her group work onto her teammates at the last second), "will work well together."

"Yay! So, you wanna go to class together?" She asked me, but I was unresponsive, sensing movement out of the corner of my eye. Tilting my head ever so slightly to my right, I saw Gryff and a bunch of his friends with Caley.

As Gryff waved his hand to tell his friends to leave him alone with Caley for a bit, his friends went off to class, and somehow, I felt an oncoming headache and a mood swing as I saw the two of them together.

"Are you okay?" I heard Jane question me,, and with a jolt, I realised that I had been distracted.

"Yes, I'm fine, honey. Don't need to worry." A forced answer rushed its way out of throat as I walked away with Jane towards class.

Caley's POV

When assembly ended, unlike normally, I stayed back in the Great Hall, tiptoeing to peek over the crowd of students, eyes searching. I nearly toppled over as most of the students rushed towards the exit to go to their classes or free periods, bumping into me. I saw one of them look back at me for a second, mouth open and gaping as if they were going to apologise, or actually be decent to me for once, but seeing the "ice princess" of the school, they immediately shut their mouth and hurried after their classmates.

Narrowing my eyes in annoyance, I huffed in annoyance and watched with some amusement as my lock of neon green hair jolted backwards in response. More determined, I put all my weight on the toes of my feet again as I attempted to look over the crowd, the edges of my mouth curling upwards for a moment as I finally located a familiar patch of shaggy black hair.

Slipping through the people (thank goodness I possessed the agility and speed that a Seeker usually had), sometimes accidentally stabbing a few students on the way with my elbows, but managing to get where I wanted to be with a few nicely planned pushes and shoves. Sneaking up, I flicked the shaggy black hair and I almost grinned in victory as Gryff turned around with big eyes, but I quickly composed myself as I saw he was with a few of his classmates.

"Gryff." I said, and if a person where to listen to me, they might think I was being rude, cool and harsh, but upon closer inspection, they would have noticed the underlying tones of amusement, and the hint of a smirk in my expression, my mouth turned upwards slightly at the corners..

"Caley!" Gryff yelled back, and I winced at the loud noise as he enveloped me in a bear hug (I did not know our family was so touchy-feely, but maybe it was just Gryff). He glanced at me questioningly, and I answered him by flicking my hair towards his classmates who were staring at us in fright, gesturing that I wanted them gone before I said anything at all. Gryff sighed, but I knew he would do as I requested.

"Guys, you should go to class first," Gryff turned and said to his classmates, all the while maintaining that ridiculously cheerful smile of his, "See you guys late, okay? Don't miss me!" He added cheekily, and one of his classmates merely stuck a tongue out at him in playful retaliation as they bounded towards the exit of the Great Hall.

Turning back to me, Gryff immediately raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to start talking.

"So, you're going to be my campaign manager, right?" I questioned, eyes narrowed, with a flicker of light, a promise of a threat if he didn't.

He rolled his eyes in response.

"Of course Caley. Does it look like I have anyone else to help?"

I shrugged, remembering the other candidate, Torie Mellor, who Gryff "adopted" for a brief while on the train, and seemed to like.

"Okay. Since you're going to be helping me, I'm going to need the dates of when you're free and I can organise meetings for those dates."

Gryff rolled his eyes upon hearing my second sentence, knowing full well that I usually memorised his time table, because, well, I was the responsible one between the two of us. I had to be, since I didn't have any other friends, and Gryff was the only one I knew at least remotely well in the whole school. Scrutinizing his expression closely, I noticed that he seemed to be disappointed because of something, and I cut to the chase at once.

"What''s bothering you? You look disappointed."

He seemed to come back to his senses, his normal, though slightly weaker smile appearing on his face once again. He ruffled my hair, and I shook my head to get it back into its naturally tify position before glaring at him in indignance.

"Nothing, Caley, nothing." I could tell that there was still something that he wasn't telling me, but because he seemed pretty unhappy about it, I thought it best not to continue prying into his matters. After all, we were seventh years, some of the oldest in the school, and so near adulthood, and soon we wouldn't be there for each other after all. There would be new people to trust, so I let it go, though I bit my lip in anxiety. We had to stop relying on each other.

"Okay. I guess I'll be going now. Bye." With a short farewell, I turned on my heel and made my way out of the Great Hall, maintaining my perfect facade all the way. However, once the grand doors slammed shut behind me, I rushed towards the nearest bathroom, hair flying wildly as I sprinted, and once in the safety of my cocoon of lonliness (aka one of the bathroom stalls), I pressed my body against the door in an attempt to regain control of my emotions. The flimsy door not enough to support me and my weak knees, I fell to the floor, eyes still wide and mouth still gaping at the emotional distress.

Normally, I was a very controlling person, with the ability to control almost all of my emotions - pull a frown when I was secretly smiling, and fake a genuine smile when I felt like ripping my heart out of my chest.

But when it came to Gryff, because of what had happened before, anything that had to do with him? My heart almost stopped, like I was having a panic attack, and I almost ceased breating. I knew it was the same for him, and it was no consolation when I imagined him in the exact same position as I was, but in the boys toilet, overwhelmed with the sudden bouts of emotion.

_*Flashback*_

_Crack._

_The sound of shattered - or rather, shattering - glass resonates throughout the spacy room. Red trickles ominously down the walls. There are sounds of fingernails scraping, and feet moving quickly as both rush, desperate to hold on to something._

_Both feebly attempting to hold onto life, one life._

_The splattered walls and the running feet starting blurring together, until I was by myself in the darkness._

_*Flashback*_

I gasped as I finally swam above the surface of my memory pool, the thoughts of drowning in those vivid images just a few seconds ago taking its toll on my exhausted mind. Flicking back the sleeve of my robe to get at my watch, I noticed, with a sense of foreboding, that my first lesson for the day had already passed, and my second class was soon approaching.

Checking my watch again, for the confirmation that I had around ten minutes to get ready for my next class, I pushed myself up to stand on my two feet. Carefully, I groomed my appearance again, just as I had done in the morning. Patting down my robes, flattening my hair, and rubbing my face harshly and vigorously with my hands, my slim fingers threading themselves through my hair.

I wiped away the streaks of tears that had somehow escaped my notice before placing a fist over my chest, feeilng my pulse. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths before my pulse returned to its normal speed, slow, and calm, just the way I liked it.

Finally, I unlocked the toilet door and stepped out into the open, blatantly ignoring the two girls who were standing near the sinks gossiping, their whispers becoming louder when they saw me.

Behaving as my reflexes commanded me, I shot them a glare, striding over towards the sinks. I quickly turned the tap on, rinsed and cleaned my hands then made my way out of the bathroom, unable to stand being in the company of others (though they never really bothered with me) for very long.

Though a part of me wanted to turn back and yell to them that really, I wasn't the cold-blooded girl they thought me to be, But the second I made to turn back, goosebumps appeared on my skin, all over my arms and legs, and my heartbeat acclerated.

_Maybe not such a good idea after all_, I thought as I walked away.

Torie's POV

I twirled my pen idly between my fingers as I sighed, reminding myself that I would never, ever go to the quiet of the library again. The whole silence simply disquieted me, and that made me annoyed. _Nothing_ could ever scare _the _Torie Mellor.

Plus, I didn't even know where to go next with my plan. The only thing I had written down that was really of us was simply "Get close to Gryff Crawford". There was no _how _to help me. I moaned as I thunked my head onto the table. I had never been particularly good at my studies - smart, but not really bothering to study, resulting in barely average grades.

_Average grades meant not such a good job. Not such a good job meant dissatisfied parents. Dissatisfied parents meant I would probably get kicked out of the house sometime in the future._ I shook my head furiously. _No, they had to keep me. Because they loved me, right?_ I tugged at the expensive bracelet on my wrist.

_Maybe I could suck up to them this summer, be good and voila! Nothing will - _my train of thought suddenly stopped when I realised that was a perfect plan to "get closer to Gryff Crawford". Suck up to him! As simple as that. Pretend that I liked him a lot.

_What level would our relationship have to be at for me to be able to get a lot of money from him? _I questioned myself, and I easily came up with the answer _We would have to be in a relationship. Boyfriend and girlfriend._

Satisfied with my new plan, I scribbled a simple sentence, easily comprehendable sentence onto my notebook.

_Get Gryff Crawford to be my boyfriend._


End file.
